PERDICINiE. 
leaving  the  large  rounded  hard  scale  naked.  Wings  moderate  and  pointed,  with  the  second,  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  quills  equal  and  longest.  Tail  short  and  slightly  rounded.  Tarsi  shorter  than  the 
middle  toe,  covered  in  front  with  divided  scales,  and  armed  with  a  blunt  tubercle.  Toes  long,  united  at 
the  base,  with  the  outer  one  longer  than  the  inner  ;  the  claws  moderate  and  slightly  curved. 
It  is  equally  in  the  cultivated,  as  well  as  the  uncultivated  lands,  in  the  plains  and  in  the  high  mountainous  parts  of 
Europe,  Northern  Africa,  and  Asia,  that  the  various  species  of  this  genus  are  found.  Some  frequent  during  the 
summer  the  elevated  portions  of  the  mountains,  and  descend  towards  the  valleys  on  the  approach  of  winter,  during 
which  they  become  very  tame,  and  enter  the  villages  without  fear.  Other  species  prefer  the  level  lands,  where  they 
live  throughout  the  year,  migrating  from  place  to  place,  in  search  of  food ;  when  alarmed,  they  usually  run  for  a  great 
distance  before  they  take  to  flight,  and  thereby  generally  escape  the  sportsman's  aim.  Their  food  consists  of  grains, 
vegetables,  and  insects.  The  female  usually  deposits  her  eggs  in  a  tuft  of  rank  grass,  or  beneath  a  low  bush  in  barren 
places.  Others  place  them  on  the  moss  or  slender  herbage,  which  covers  the  rocks  or  large  stones.  The  eggs  are 
generally  fifteen  to  eighteen  in  number. 
1.  C.  rufa  (Linn.)   PI.  enl.  150. —  Perdix   rubra  Briss.  Gould,         4.  C.  melanocephala  (Iliipp.)  Faun.  Abyss,  t.  5. 
B.  of  Eur.  pi.  260.  5.  C.  petrosa  (Lath.)  Edwards's  Birds,  pi.  70.,  Gould,  B.  of  Eur. 
2.  C.  grceca  (Briss.)    PI.  enl.  231. —  Perdix  saxatilis  Bechst. ;  pi.  26l.  f.  1.  —  Type  of  Alectoris  Kaup  (1829). 
P.  rufa  Gmel.  Gould,  B.  of  Eur.  pi.  26 1,  f.  2.  6.  C.  Heyii  (Temra.)  PI.  cl.  328,  320. 
3.  C.  chukar  (Gray)  Griff.  An.  Kingd.  Hi.  p.  54.,  111.  Ind.  Zool.  7.  C.  Bonhami  G.  R.  Gray,  Ann.  Nat.  Hist.  1843.  p.  372., 
pi.  54.,  Gould,  Cent,  of  B.  t.  71. —  Chacura  pugnax  Hodgs.  Madr.  Fras.  Zool.  Typ.  pt.  3.  pi.  — Perdix  griseogularis  Brandt,  Bull,  des 
Journ.  Lit.  &  Sci.  1837.  p.  305.  Sci.  Petersb.  x.p.  27. 
Lerwa  Hodgs.* 
Bill  shorter  than  the  head,  with  the  culmen  much  arched  to  the  tip ;  the  sides  dilated,  and  greatly 
covering  the  lower  mandible ;  the  nostrils  lateral,  basal,  small,  and  covered  by  a  tumid  hard  scale. 
Wings  long,  with  the  first  four  quills  nearly  equal,  and  the  second  and  third  the  longest.  Tail 
moderate  and  rounded.  Tarsi  short,  plumed  below  the  knee,  and  armed  with  a  blunt  small  spur,  and 
the  remaining  part  scutellated  with  divided  scales.  Toes  long,  with  the  lateral  one  nearly  equal,  and 
the  hind  toe  rather  long  ;  the  claws  long,  robust  and  slightly  curved. 
The  type  of  this  genus  is  only  found  in  flocks  among  rocks  and  low  brushwood,  close  to  the  permanent  snowy  range 
of  the  high  northern  mountains  of  India.  It  sustains  itself  upon  the  buds  and  leaves  of  aromatic  plants,  and  it  also  feeds 
on  insects.    It  is  considered  the  most  game-like  of  all  the  sporting  birds  of  that  region,  even  when  eaten  fresh. 
L.  uivicola  Hodgs.  —  Perdix  Lerwa  Hodgs.  Proc.  Z.  S.  1833.  p.  107.  Gray,  111.  Ind.  Zool.  ii.  pi.  44.  f.  1. 
*  Established  by  .Mr.  Hodgson  in  1837  (Madr.  Journ.  Lit.  q-  Sci.  1837,  p.  301.).    He  also  used  Tetraoperdix  for  the  same  type. 
January,  1846. 
